What Greg Eats

Franklin BBQ - Best Brisket in the World

2012-03-08T23:22:25Z

Even though it's been described hundreds of times, and often by better writers than myself, I'll give a go at explaining just why I love the brisket at Franklin BBQ so much.

First, the quality of the meat is spectacular. I sometimes buy USDA Choice, but typically speaking I go with USDA Prime, and even then, I won't buy pre-packaged, I make them move around the stuff in the counter, so I can get exactly the cuts I want.

That doesn't make me a beef expert, just a bit of a snob really, and truth is, I probably don't know what I'm talking about.

However, Franklin's has superb beef. Just the right amount of fat content, connective tissue, etc. The flavor is outstanding too.

The bark, the crust, the edge...I can't emphasize this enough. It's game changing. The bark is thick and black. If you just looked at it, you would suspect that someone had burned the hell out of their brisket. But you take a bite, and that bark is a bit firm to the tooth, caramelized and sweet, but not overly so. The flavor has the perfect blend of spices, smoke and juices.

Tenderness. Again, it's perfect. You cut it short with brisket and you have to chew too much. You go too long, and it just falls apart into a stringy mess that's lost all of its consistency.

Franklin's tenderness is just spot on. The meat has that grainy, sort of falling apart thing starting to happen, but with just enough integrity left to keep it all together and make a very pleasing texture.

The little touches... How you trim, cut and slice a brisket is key to the tenderness and to a smaller degree the flavor. Aaron Franklin takes this job on himself, and he's a rockstar at it. He quickly disassembles a new brisket down into the bits that are going to make quality, sliced brisket, the bits he can chop for sandwiches and the scrap heap.

He doesn't skimp either. When he starts breaking down a brisket, he'll load up the scrap pile, if that's what's necessary when he gets to cutting.

Plus, he's incredibly friendly. It takes awhile to get through the line, because the guy is just so nice. He asks how everyone's day is going. He seems genuinely interested. And he works really hard to make sure that you get exactly what you wanted in your order. He'll give you a shame-on-you, but not condescending look if you ask for extra lean, but you know he's just kidding.

My wife hates fatty brisket, but after her first time and his little look, she decided to just go with cutter's choice the next time, and lo' and behold, she loved it, even though she won't eat brisket anywhere else unless it's extra lean.

The sausage is really good, but not great. The ribs are great, but not alert-world-leaders great. I've never had the turkey. The sides are quality. The beans are probably as good as mine and I typically sneer at the pinto beans put out by any other BBQ place, because I know I can kick their butt in my own kitchen, but no, Franklin's are easily as good as mine.

I don't go all the time, because standing in the line is a pain in the butt and you have to set aside a lot of time for it. And you know you're going to come out of there bloated with the meat sweats, but oh, so happy.

However, for those rare occasions, once every month or two, enough to soothe the brisket beast inside, but also keep it special, you're damn right it's worth it. Best brisket in the world, hands down.

In summary, I'll put it this way. I lost my Dad over 20 years ago, but he is still revered in my memory, by my family, and by everyone who knew him. My Dad, being the eldest of a large family, learned how to cook at a young age. He then spent 27 years on the Fire Department where he did all the cooking.

Meanwhile, he cooked for us at home. He cooked for every family reunion, and he loved cooking brisket and other BBQ. He owned 5 different BBQs/smokers, and each had its purpose.

His brisket, on a pedestal in my memory, has been the gold standard by which I measure all other brisket. Even the big three in Lockhart have only come so close as to be an honorable mention compared to the splendor that was my Dad's brisket.

...until I ate at Franklin's. I can't reconcile it any other way. Franklin's brisket is simply better than my dad's. It just is. If he were here tomorrow, we'd be in line at 10:00am, just so I could show him, because he would appreciate it too.

Pluckers!

2011-01-06T23:48:00Z

Anyone who is Facebook friends with me has likely noticed (if they notice such things) that once a week or so, I post a Facebook Places update to say that I'm at Pluckers.

Today a friend asked me if it was a weekly thing, so I explained to her that it was. My coworkers and I go there just about every Monday, sometimes Thursday if we miss Monday.

We have our favorite waitress (Hi Nicole!), most of us typically order the same thing each time we go, we don't need menus and we have our routine down.

So, if this is a place I eat so often, I mean, clearly, this is a key part of What Greg (actually) Eats, why do I never write about it?

Well, wait no more, here it is. Pluckers quality sometimes varies from restaurant to restaurant, however, I have generally found that they have tasty waffle fries, their "Buffalo Medium" sauce is consistent, flavorful and a bit spicy without blowing it out of the park and their wings and boneless wings are usually meaty and well prepared.

All in all, if there's any place in Austin that I'm going to go for wings, it's usually going to be Pluckers.

Chicken, Mushrooms and Wild Rice

2010-12-16T02:49:00Z

This has quickly become one of my favorite meals, so I thought I'd share the recipe.

2 cups Wild Rice
2 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast cut up into bite size pieces (3 if the breasts are small)
2 Shallots, diced (or one small onion if you don't have shallots)
250ml heavy cream (1/2 pint)
10-15 crimini mushrooms, sliced (or white mushrooms if you don't have criminis)
4 tablespoons butter, separated
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 elbows (100ml) of white wine
Salt
Pepper
Coriander
Tony Chachere's Cajun Spice Mix - to taste

Cook the wild rice per instructions*, draining excess water if needed.

Season the chicken breasts with the salt, pepper and coriander.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add the chicken, cover and cook until the pieces are seared on the outside, about 3 minutes. Stir, turning the chicken over, cover and cook for 3 more minutes.

Move the chicken to the edge of the skillet, creating a space in the center and melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the center, then add the diced shallots and minced garlic.

Cook until the shallots soften and turn translucent, about 2 minutes, then move those to the edges as well, clearing a space in the center of the skillet.

Add the other 2 tablespoons of butter and melt, then add the mushroom pieces to the center. Coat those mushrooms in the butter and juices, cover and let the mushrooms soften and wilt, about 2 minutes.

Stir everything together, add the two elbows of white wine (by elbow, I mean tilt your elbow up quickly and back down, pouring some white out), continue slowly stirring for two minutes. Then reduce heat to medium-low and let it all cook together about another minute.

Stir in the heavy cream, add the Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning (just a few dashes, unless you want it spicy) and cook on medium-low heat for about 3-5 minutes.

Taste and adjust seasoning as needed, then mix the entire contents of the skillet into the Wild Rice, stir together and serve.

* - Wild Rice instructions.

Thoroughly rinse the two cups of wild rice in a fine sieve. Add to a large pot with a tight lid, along with 6 cups of water (yes, 6) and salt to taste.

Bring the pot to a boil and let it boil until the water is almost gone and you have to stir to keep the rice from burning, this might take 20-35 minutes, depending on a lot of factors, but just keep stirring when the water level is low.

As soon as the water level is low enough, turn off heat, cover the pot with two paper towels, put the lid on tightly and hold the lid on for 30 seconds, then let sit with lid on for at least 10 minutes (15 is better).

Fluff rice with fork, and, if there is still standing water because you chickened out and turned the heat off too soon, drain the water. :)

Showing Thanks

2010-12-11T19:40:00Z

Do you have a favorite author? Well then buy them a drink.

My dinner last night was the result of a cascading series of events that started several months ago. I’ll just skip to the end though. Last night, my friends and I treated New York Times Bestselling author Steven Brust, one of my favorite authors of all time, to Steak and Scotch.

Steven has authored numerous short stories and 25 novels, including the very popular, best-selling Vlad Taltos series, published by Tor books. Just a note here, if you haven’t read these books, starting with Jhereg, then rectify that at your earliest convenience, you can thank me later.

Or, better yet, you can thank Steven Brust later, he’s fond of Steak and Scotch.

Seriously, one of the most significant things I learned in our dinner at Cool River Café, in Austin, TX, is that, if you want to really show thanks to a favorite author – offer to buy them a drink.

Like most of you, I had often thought that anyone so well-known just has to be unapproachable. Surely they have better things to do than hang out with eager fans, being peppered with questions and plied for details and insights.

And yet, like the rest of us, they have to eat and drink also. Furthermore, when you think about it, who wouldn’t want the reassurance and proof that something they have created for mass consumption is adored and beloved.

Steven was gracious, witty, entertaining, told brilliant stories and in sitting down with us for a few hours, helped build a set of personal memories and experiences that will last a lifetime.

To our delight, he also brought along Reesa Brown, a respected, developing author in her own right, and a name you are sure to see in years to come. When hers is a household name among the literate crowd, I’ll be able to wink and say, “Yeah, I bought her dinner once.”

Those of you reading this and wanting to buy your favorite author a drink or dinner, may come up against the slight issue of living nowhere near your favorite author or of not having as much gumption as I do. When I was a kid, I was described by my family as having never met a stranger and it’s true. Those of you who know me, will know this.

If you just don’t think you can muster the courage to extend an invitation to someone you adore, abandon ye not, hope remains!

Find your favorite author’s personal webpage, dig around in it and you’ll probably find a place to donate money to or support the author, or you’ll find an online store, contact information or the like.

Using those means, send them $20 and a note, “Thanks for everything, the next round’s on me.”

One Charming Pig

2010-11-21T23:06:00Z

Had the opportunity a few days ago to eat at Noble Pig Sandwiches, in North Austin, near Cedar Park. It was absolutely delicious. I highly recommend this hole-in-the-wall, gourmet-comfort-food sandwich shop.

The chef-owners really concentrate on DIY. Their chalkboard menu changes often and features homemade varieties of bread (white or wheat), mayo, mustard, house smoked bacon and more. Before Noon you can also get breakfast, but the sandwiches are served all day with freshly cooked Kettle chips. Other sides include homemade potato salad, jalapeno slaw, pickled vegetables or more.

When we ordered, I went for the eponymous Noble Pig sandwich. It's piled high (but not too high) with house smoked bacon, pulled pork and ham, served up on their fresh made bread with provolone and a homemade mustard. Every bite burst with flavor and had an excellent, chewy texture.

Meanwhile, Julia went for their Thai Chicken sandwich with Jalapeno-cabbage slaw and cilantro. It was creamy, flavorful and had a surprising bite of spice to it.

We washed everything down with a couple of Dublin Dr Peppers we picked up there. This put a big exclamation point on a fantastic lunch.

A + A Sichuan Garden: Austin, TX

2010-11-10T19:11:00Z

First, a side note, posts have been very few and very far between as I concentrate my efforts on breaking into fiction writing. I'm working on a few different ideas and stories in the fantasy and science fiction genres, and having a good time doing so.

However, this isn't about that. This Quick Thought is about A + A Sichuan Garden on North 183 in Austin. It's in the location of the former Tea House restaurant, which was sorely missed.

My A + A Sichuan Garden Quick Thought is that this place is really good. The prices are reasonable, menu was extensive and offered a few recognizable favorites with a much more robust selection of more traditional items.

The portions were very large.

I've only been once, but I'm sure I'll be back many times. I don't have General Tso's Chicken that often, because I'm so often disappointed by thick, overly sweet sauce with dry, tough chicken.

My experience at A + A Sichuan Garden couldn't be farther from that. The crisp lotus flower breading yielded to moist, succulent bites of chicken that were perfectly sized (rather than being huge, as many places do it). The sauce was tangy and had a pleasant bit of heat to it.

All in all, a great experience. I'll definitely be back.

Anthony Bourdain's Medium Raw Challenge

2010-07-19T19:26:00Z

Anthony Bourdain's Medium Raw Challenge

I am proud of the essay I wrote, and would appreciate people reading it and voting for me. However, if you start browsing and find an essay you prefer over mine, by all means vote for them.

Voting is once per day, and entrants cannot vote for themselves. Normally, I wouldn't bother soliciting votes, because while I have a decent number of online friends, I wouldn't say I'm leading any kind of community.

However, in this case, votes are only 10% of it, and I'm hoping to get enough to just get my essay some recognition. If I can get them to read it, then I think it can stand on its own.

Thanks!

Take me to the Pourhouse

2010-06-08T13:20:00Z

Main Entry: pap·par·del·le

Pronunciation: \ˌpä-pär-ˈde-lā\

Function: noun

Etymology: Italian

Date: 1899

: pasta in the form of wide ribbon

"You do know that's pasta, right sir?" the waitress asked.

"Umm, yes."

So, that's the conversation that took place when I ordered the pappardelle at the Pourhouse in Vancouver. I'm guessing they get a lot of people who read the description on the menu, "Confit Yellow Meadows Farm Duck, Peas, Baby Arugula, Grana Padano Cheese, House Made Foccacia," and never realize they are ordering a pasta dish.

For the record, it was darned tasty - pasta and all.

This is where I have to admit, with some disappointment in myself, that I didn't notice that closely what everyone else ordered. Julia had something with seafood in it.

We had dinner with Julia's professor and her husband. I know he had the brisket (as any good Texan would know, we have a sixth sense about these things), but for the most part I was so engrossed in a fantastic conversation that I just never took that much notice of what was on that table.

For all that though, the food was excellent, drinks were good, we had a fantastic conversation and the atmosphere set a great mood for it all.

It's been awhile since I've posted an update, so I'm going to keep this short, ease back into it. But I look forward to writing about cheap (but good) sushi; fish & chips; a great turkey dinner; the amazing, chaotic wonder of Guu and the Japadog that never was.

Creamy Cajun Chicken with Mixed Vegetables

2010-03-15T01:17:00Z

I've been busy, but this is so tasty, I have to take time away from eating it just to write it up.

First, I needed something tasty, something that'd keep since I needed it to last a few meals, and most of all, something different.

So I grabbed....

3 Nice looking chicken breasts, boneless/skinless (sliced into strips)

3 shallots (diced)

1 bulb of garlic (sliced into slivers)

2 yellow squash (sliced into small pieces)

1 green squash (sliced into small pieces)

1 bunch of asparagus (sliced into 1.5" long pieces)

1 carton of fresh shiitake mushrooms

Butter

A Pint of Heavy Whipping Cream

A half cup of shredded parmesan/romano blend

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

Cayenne

Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning

Salt

Pepper

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Lemon (carefully slice off the zest and cut it in half cause you'll need the juice)

I started with melting some butter, then added the shallots, gave those about 45 seconds on high, then added the garlic, gave that another 45 seconds, then added the chicken spiced with ...well, some of all the spices above, then shortly thereafter I added the lemon zest and lemon juice.

I added a bit more butter when it was almost done, then transfered it to a large bowl with a slotted spoon.

I added a bit more Olive Oil to the cast iron skillet and threw in my green squash and shiitake mushrooms. Once those had been sweated down until they were soft, I moved that to the bowl.

Then I added the yellow squash and asparagus, with more of the same spices above and repeated this whole process. Only, when they were soft, I added the pint of heavy whipping cream. Then, a little bit at a time I mixed in the Parmesan/Romano blend until it was all incorporated into the thicker sauce.

I reduced that a bit, added more cayenne, let it thicken up, then poured that all into the large bowl, mixed everything around and served.

I would have put it over pasta, but I'm trying to cut down my carb intake.

I am loving it. :)

Chives Canadian Bistro

2010-01-21T03:28:00Z

This is just a quick note on a good restaurant very deserving of quick notes and more. Chives Canadian Bistro was a delightful find and served us well on a dark and stormy night in Halifax.

When I say dark and stormy, I really do mean it. The gusts of wind coming up the street from the port were staggering. Frozen rain and snow were whipping around violently obscuring vision and stinging the skin. So it was ideal that Chives was located not even a full block away from the Four Points Sheraton in downtown Halifax. So we braved the shin deep slush, harsh winds and stinging ice for dinner.

Our time and effort were well spent, the dinner was excellent and for the quality, very reasonably priced.

We had been hoping to try the Chef's Tasting Menu, featured on their Seasonal Menu. Unfortunately, we arrived right in that lull around the holidays where they change over from one seasonal menu to another, so they had an interim menu of limited choices. None the less, we were able to find items on the menu that sounded great to us and proved to be better than they sounded.

We started with a nice seared Foie Gras resting atop crostini, served with a fig reduction and a small microgreen salad. The Foie Gras was perfectly prepared and the generous 2 oz. portion made for an ideal appetizer. The sweetness in the fig and saltiness in the crostini cut through the rich fat of the Foie Gras to make every bite a delight.

Julia enjoyed their version of a surf and turf, which consisted of a AAA Tenderloin (USDA Choice equivalent, I believe). It had been cooked a perfect medium rare. It was resting atop a bed of gnocchi which themselves were floating in a brandy-peppercorn cream sauce, similar to what you might expect from a Steak Au Poivre. And to finish off the surf part of the surf and turf, the plate was loaded with large, plump, succulent scallops -- precisely the quality one would expect in Nova Scotia.

Meanwhile, I went with their Best of Nova Scotia Seafood Risotto. The risotto itself was dense, creamy, robust and flavorful -- with the perfect texture. But that's not the best part, the best part was that every single bite from the tiniest nibble to the largest spoonful was completely infused with the fresh, undeniable - sea air flavor of great local seafood.

Resting atop the risotto was a giant diver scallop and a firm, tasty jumbo shrimp, mixed within the risotto were more pieces of scallop, shrimp, lobster, mussels and clams -- all local, all great.

We paired this all with a pleasantly inexpensive Temperanillo. They had it to offer by the glass, so I was able to try a sample before we had even ordered our food. The sample was enough to confirm that, with the wine decanted and the tannins softened, it would open up nicely and compliment our food without overpowering it.

If you'd have asked me to pick a wine to pair with those two dishes, I'm not sure what I would have said. Seafood risotto normally makes me think Pinot Grigio maybe, or a Chenin Blanc. Throw in the surf and turf and I'm leaning towards a lighter Pinot Noir, but I don't think I would have been Temperanillo for either. I'm glad I gave it a chance though, it was a delight.

We each saved a half-glass of wine to finish of our meal with, complimenting the cheese plate we ordered. I wish I knew more about the cheeses, this was the only place where I was let down. The waitstaff wasn't aware of the minute details of the cheese plate and didn't take the hint to produce someone from the kitchen who was. Setting that aside though, it was an excellent ending to an excellent meal, featuring 4 thin bread sticks, quince jam, apple slices, nuts and -- at my best guess -- smoked gouda, creamy bleu cheese, a semi-firm, creamy, nutty cheese (similar to Osau Iraty) and mild brie.

If you find yourself in Halifax, regardless the weather, check out Chives. It's worth your time, effort and money.

Lobster Feast - Cape Breton Style

2009-12-30T18:07:00Z

Say hello to my little friend...

This fella, and a few of his friends were our "dinner guests" in the best Lobster Feast I've ever had.

First things first, they spread plastic wrap on the wooden dining room table. Once they had a double layer of that down on the table, they then spread newspapers all over the table, double-thick layers of that too.

Plates, forks, long picks, crackers, butter knives and butcher knives came out next, followed closely by a few different dipping bowls of garlic infused drawn butter.

A whole roll of paper towels finished the prep work, the next thing to come out were 8 big lobsters like this guy. There were 6 of us eating, and in no time, the sound of cracking shells, slurping butter and content diners filled the room.

I'm going to do my best, as a Texan, to explain how to break down a Lobster.

First of all, be careful. Sure, they aren't alive any more so you don't have to worry about the claws, but they are spiny and some of those spines are sharp. Also, where the shell breaks, there are sharp edges. As you eat them, your skin will get wet, they'll get slippery and your wet skin will be more susceptible to little cuts and punctures from the Lobster. Believe me though, before you turn away thinking this is too much, it's worth all of the effort.

The seasoned Lobster eaters at the table with me broke these suckers down in no time, and the learning curve is fast. By the time we were done, I had gotten pretty good at this myself.

Ok...so, first things first, in your primary hand (I'm right handed), grasp the tail of the lobster, just below the body, grasp the body in your secondary hand.

Twist the body and tail in two different directions, until the tail snaps off.

You should have a large tail in your right hand now. Set the body down and carefully pinched the first two sections of the lobster tail-shell until they crack, then peel those off. Work your way down the tail snapping off those sections until you can hold the base of the tail and wiggle all of the meat out. The shell now goes into the scrap bowl.

Holding the tail meat, near the wide part where it met the body, on the top, there is a thin strip that runs the length of the tail on top, just like the vein on a shrimp. Once you find the right strip, you can just pull that off carefully, the whole length of the tail, then clean out that trough of dark stuff beneath.

Now you have a whole, beautiful tail to work with. You can either eat that, or you can keep working and break down the claws. I say go for the claws, so you can eat in peace.

With the claws, break off the smaller joints, use one of the long, thin picks to remove the flesh from those joints, snack on those as you go to hold yourself over.

When you get to the main claws themselves, carefully bend down the thinner jaw of the claw and remove that. Shift aside that bit of tendon in the way, then use the pick to fish out that bit of claw meat in that small section. This piece is long enough to dip in your butter.

Now, for the main claw, there are a few different trains of thought, I'll give you mine. I go for the crackers, and I crack that sucker, carefully, until I can remove large portions of the claw-shell until I can fish out the entire piece of claw meat whole.

Do the same for the other side now, and get to eating. Don't forget your garlic butter!!

Once you're done though, you're not really done. Now you can remove the legs. Bite down with your front teeth carefully on the leg at the first joint, then bite right behind that, right behind that, etc. working your way back until the meat pops out in your mouth. Then pull off that piece of chewed on leg and go to town on the next joint. Continue with the next leg.

Once THAT'S all done, you can then remove the "tamale" from the inside of the body and eat that (I like it, but many people don't. Think of it as Lobster Liver, if you want). Now you can completely de-construct the body and fish out those bits of really tender meat that are attached to the joints where you removed the claws and leg. It's tougher work in here, but worth it.

Of course, the question now is, what to eat for sides? If you're in Texas or someplace where Lobsters are insanely expensive, you're going to love your lobster, but you're not going to be full. So corn, potatoes, potato salad, coleslaw could all go with your lobster feast.

However, if you're up here in Cape Breton where you might be able to get Lobster for as little as $4.00 a pound if you're lucky, then don't even think about sides, because by the time you're done demolishing and devouring your first lobster, the second or third wave, just like our third wave pictured below, will be coming out. (Oh, one more note, left over lobster is great if its all chopped up and served on a french roll with some mayo, salt and pepper as a lobster sandwich).

Welcome to Nova Scotia

2009-12-28T16:44:11Z

I finally broke myself out of my food reverie long enough to actually write about food. The only way I can manageably keep up with the all of the great things I've eaten on vacation is to write up what I've eaten two at a time.

Today we're going to cover Donairs and Homemade Seafood Chowder.

At this point, I would suspect that most of you are asking yourself...what in the world is a Donair? That's a great question, because before Julia explained it to me, I would have been asking, what in the world is a Donair?

Basically, (no one get angry with me here please), it's a Gyro with different sauce. The sauce is a sweet, tangy, thick sauce made from condensed milk, vinegar, garlic, and a few other things. It's creamy and very sweet. The flatbread is a bit more flat that what's found in most Gyro's, in my experience. Also, Gyro's usually have rough cut tomatoes and onions in long strands, whereas Donairs use diced tomatoes and onions. The meat, however, is very similar.

From what I've seen, having had them twice now, Donairs from any particular place come in 2-4 different sizes. Those sizes typically use the same size flatbread and just load it down with more and more toppings, all covered in sauce and wrapped up in 2-3 pieces of tinfoil.

They are incredibly messy, but seriously delicious. The sauce gives it a totally different flavor than a Gyro. I really enjoyed my first Donairs, but I've been reliably informed that you can't get a quality Donair outside of Nova Scotia.

Unless you were raised on them, the allure of a Donair might not be enough, by itself, to get you to Halifax, however, it should be a factor in your decision. You won't have trouble finding one either. I had my first one at King of Donair on "Pizza Corner" with shops on 3 out of 4 corners pimping their Donairs with big neon signs. It's an event food, have one sometime. Just don't make any intimate plans afterwards with anyone who didn't also have a Donair. That combination of onions, sauce, garlic, etc. is...distinctive.

Now...on to the second part of this write-up. Homemade Seafood Chowder.

Wow...that's about all I can say. We went to the house of Julia's Aunt Marilyn. She had a big pot on the stove, bubbling away full of Seafood Chowder.

This was, quite simply, perfect. The broth wasn't the ultra-thick, creamy mess that Chowder can sometimes be in New England, looking like it came out of a Campbell's can. Instead the broth was light and flavorful, there were tiny spots of oil floating in it. The crusty bread available on the table was also perfect for sopping duties, and trust me, not a drop escaped.

The chowder was chock full of seafood, pieces of lobster, shrimp and scallops, with a base of carrots and small pieces of potato. It was go-back-for-seconds-or-thirds kind of good.

Each bite was exploding with great seafood flavor, accented perfectly with that broth and complimented by the texture and flavor of the vegetables.

I've had great seafood chowder before. This was transcendent seafood chowder.

Donairs and Chowder...yeah, I could live up here. And keep in mind, I haven't even told you about little things like...fresh fried fisherman's platter, lobster feast, Christmas dinner (along with a contribution from me) and other great stuff.

Stay tuned for more, What Greg Eats - Cape Breton, Nova Scotia Edition.

Carne Guisada

2009-12-13T19:10:00Z

Of the people currently reading this article, there are two types. Type one, the more common type probably, is asking themselves, what in the world is Carne Guisada? Did he mean Carne Asada? I've never heard of this stuff <read on>.

The second type is rocking back and forth in their chair, drooling a little bit, captured in a memory of the last time they had Carne Guisada. They'll finish reading this when they recover.

Right, but what is it? Essentially, it's a thick mexican beef stew (more Tex-Mex really). But it's so thick, you don't eat it by itself, you either eat it with flour tortillas (on the side, in a taco or in a burrito), or you eat it over rice (or, for breakfast, over scrambled eggs).

This recipe is designed to make a large portion, it's not something you can make just a little bit of really, however, it should freeze well. This will be different from other recipes you find for Carne Guisada online, because...well, how many different recipes would you find for Beef Stew..exactly.

I prefer this one because the flavors are great, and it turns out nice and thick.

Ingredients:

3 lbs beef stew meat in 1" cubes (Chuck roast is good for this)
4-6 tablespoons of all purpose flour
1 large white onion, diced fine
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 cups of Beef Stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1.5 tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil

Place the flour in a large, one gallon zip lock bag, along with your salt and pepper. Add the stew meat and shake to coat. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over high heat. Transfer the stew meat to the skillet to brown it, cooking it about 3/4 done. While cooking it, add the cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper.

Transfer the browned stew meat to a crockpot with a slotted spoon, to leave all the liquid in the skillet. Next, add the onion to the skillet and begin to sweat it. After a few minutes, add the garlic.

As it cooks, begin to stir in the remaining flour a tablespoon at a time. If it gets too thick, add enough of the beef stock to thin it. Continue until you've incorporated all of the flour. You can do this quickly, you don't have to create a true roux, you just want the flour full incorporated in the liquid. When that's done, add that to the crockpot with the remainder of the beef stock and the tomato paste.

Cook on high for 4 and a 1/2 hours until the beef is falling apart tender (after 2 hours, you can taste test it, and add more salt if needed). Serve taco or burrito style over flour tortillas, or serve over rice (or scrambled eggs for breakfast).

Biscuits and Gravy

2009-11-30T00:25:00Z

To be fair, this should be titled: Gravy - since I made my biscuits from a can. However, canned biscuits can be really good. Especially since many people's homemade biscuits, in my experience, are bland. I prefer Hungry Jack biscuits if you can find them, but any old fashioned style biscuits from a can work fine.

At any rate, I'm not a baker, and thus won't be making my own biscuits anytime soon. However, I did make my own creamstyle gravy, in the fine tradition my father set for me many a Sunday morning.

For those of you who have had cream gravy in restaurants, you no doubt have noticed that it can often be bland. I think that's because they have to make it in such large batches.

The very best cream gravy I have ever had in a restaurant, I would give a 5 on a 1-10 scale, most of it is a 2 at best. My Dad's gravy, on this scale, was a 10.

There are many things you can use as the oil/fat base for your gravy. Probably the most popular is breakfast sausage with lots of sage in it. Nothing wrong with that.

However, I like meat mixed into my gravy, so I did mine with a pound of hamburger meat, not terribly lean (after all, I want the fat). I browned that in a cast iron skillet with salt, pepper and cumin, then transferred it to a nearby bowl with a slotted spoon.

Before I started this whole process, I took my whole milk out of the fridge and poured a large glass, then let it sit (carton and glass both) on the counter during this process, so it warmed up just a bit. I didn't want it refrigerator-cold.

With my hamburger meat now browned and off in a medium sized serving bowl, I melted a tablespoon of butter in my skillet, which was on high heat and still contained the oil from the hamburger meat.

Then, while stirring vigorously with a wire whisk (vigorous stirring and wire whisk are, neither one, optional, must have those), I sprinkled in about 2 heaping tablespoons of flour. I kept stirring the flour and oil/butter mixture until I had a roux that was the color of coffee with a little bit of cream.

I then poured in my glass of milk as quick as I could without splattering, and took a second to add a lot of salt and pepper. It takes a good deal of seasoning, you will need to salt it more than you think you should and unfortunately, it needs to be salted while it's cooking, just adding it later doesn't really work.

I stirred that until it started to boil, then poured in another glass of milk just like the first one. I then added a good bit more salt and pepper, and let that go until it started to boil. Then I cooked it down some until it was noticeable beginning to thicken.

I then poured it over the hamburger meat, stirred that up and waited about 4-5 minutes. Then served it over my fresh, hot biscuits (from a can, which were just fine, thank you very much).

All in all, I'll give myself a 7. A far cry from my Dad's 10, not quite as good as my sister's 9, but a helluva lot better than the restaurants 5. You can bet that, every now and then, I'll be working on refining my methods until I get closer to that Holy Grail - 10 of gravy. If ever make gravy that good, who knows, I might try my hand at biscuits from scratch. (This is the part where you don't hold your breath).

Little of This, Little of That - Nobu: Honolulu, HI

2009-11-09T18:52:00Z

This, the second opportunity I had to dine at one of the twenty-two global Nobu locations, was every bit as memorable as the first. An opportunity to enjoy a meal at Nobu Waikiki provided all of the inspiration necessary to arrange a day trip to Oahu, while vacationing on Kauai in Hawaii.

During a trip to Miami Beach last year, I tried the Chef’s Omakasa at Nobu, Miami Beach. The Omakasa is Nobu’s version of a tasting menu. This nine course prix fie menu, varies daily and features the items that the chef chooses to highlight that day. Typically this is a blend of Nobu signature dishes, along with the finest and freshest available in the kitchen that evening.

So, having enjoyed the Omakasa, I knew I wanted something different…but what? Well, with the assistance of some of the best informed, most helpful and expert waitstaff I have ever had the pleasure of spending an evening with, we created our own sampling of Nobu’s best.

The first course was a Nobu signature dish. Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno and Cilantro in a Soy-Miso Sauce with Yuzu syrup.

Nobu’s House Special Roll and Soft Shell Crab Roll made up our second course.

The third course we went with Nagiri Sushi. Two pieces each of Amaebi (Sweet Shrimp), Maguro (Tuna), Sake (Salmon), Hamachi (Yellowtail), Ono (Wahoo) and Toro (Fatty Tuna). In the words of the lovely woman sharing dinner with me, “Thanks for ruining Sushi for me everywhere else.” A sushi lover’s confession…I’d never had Toro. Sure, I’d heard of it, fatty tuna. Typically, for whatever reason, I steer clear of menu items that say “Market Price”. Don’t ask me why. I have never shied away from the high price items on a menu, and in fact have often made special requests that have dramatically increased the price of the final tab. But, I had avoided Toro until this meal.

If you are a sushi lover and, like I was have never had Toro. Go, have it. Enjoy it. The soft, buttery texture just melts on your tongue, dissolving into a burst of heavenly flavor against the pallet. Think of it as a life changing delicacy, not as eating at $12.00 a bite.
Each order was decided upon following the success of the previous course. The waitstaff would stop by for some brief discuss, mixed in with pleasant conversation, the collection of some opinions, and then they were off again in pursuit of the next great thing we were to eat. At this point, I would like to note the professionalism and expertise of Nobu. Every individual I spoke with had been relocated to the newly opened Waikiki location from other, established Nobu locations. Our waiter from Miami Beach, the Manager from New York, the Bartender, also from Miami Beach.

Ah! The Bartender…I began the evening with a signature Matsuhisa Martini. Stoli Vodka, Hokusetsu Sake and Ginger, garnished with cucumbers that were so cold, they had the slight crunch of freeze to them. Very refreshing. With dinner we enjoyed a “Bamboo” of Nobu Jyunmai Daiginjo sake. When I say Bamboo, I mean that a fresh, green piece of Bamboo was cut, such that each section would be watertight. The Bamboo, filled with this Sake available only to Nobu was served fresh from the freezer with small cups cut from fresh Bamboo as well, a unique and wonderful experience.

Fourth course! As it turns out, my dining partner had never enjoyed Hearts of Palm. We had Nobu’s Hearts of Palm salad with thin, wide shavings of Hearts of Palm tossed in a ginger dressing with fresh greens.

For our fifth, and last, dinner course, it was a very tough choice between Nobu’s Broiled Black Cod in Miso, one of, if not the, most famous signature dishes at Nobu. In the end however, the temptation of the new dish, a King Crab Tempura with Ponzu sauce was just too much. The pieces of King Crab were large and within the crunchy, salty tempura they were soft, juicy and buttery.

Two desserts finished off our meal. Mandarin, Kona Coffee: Cinnamon Panna Cotta, mandarin sorbet and a very light Kona Coffee flavored foam served with a praline crunch wafer. The second was a Milk Chocolate Cremoso: Milk Chocolate, lilikoi curd and gelee, Nobu cabarnet caviar and peanut butter powder. Even a number of dedicated foodies couldn’t tell you what some of that is. However, the one that floored us was Peanut Butter Powder. It was Peanut Butter that had been mixed and treated with a special flour treatment that left it as a very fine, soft powder. Once it hit your tongue it would reconstitute into an excellent peanut butter right in your mouth. With the melty, but dense milk chocolate and the tang from the lilkoi curd and gelee (as well as the cabarnet caviar) this was the most decidant version of a Reese’s the world has ever known.
Photos courtesy of the Nobu Restaurants websites.

Nobu Waikiki
2233 Helumoa Rd
Honolulu, HI 96815
(808) 237-6999

The Dangers of Deep Frying

2009-11-02T05:14:00Z

Today's guest blog is brought to you by previous guest author and still longtime friend, Matt Hasselbacher, aka Matt in the Hat, aka Matt, Destroyer of Worlds! The dangers he writes of here refer less to the hazard of a grease fire and more to the dangers of being able to fry up something whenever you want a crunchy, salty treat!! In his words, "There are some things you can't un-learn."

Deep frying is easy. Too easy. I wish I could forget this little fact.

A few weeks ago Heather decided to make her own potato chips. There were some technical difficulties. The chips were cut too thin and the oil was too hot. They did not turn out well, but we ended up with some oil in a jar in the fridge for frying.

It comes back to me watching to much food TV. They plot against me, all of them. They plan their shows to lure me in. From two separate shows I learn that you can pick up won ton wrappers at your favorite local supermarket. Mine has them in the fresh food section (next to the tofu) rather then frozen like the TV said.

Deep fry + won ton wrappers; you can see where this is going...

Did I mention that I (for reasons that escape me) have like two and a half things of cream cheese in my fridge?

I pick up some ground pork and water chestnuts at the store along with the wrappers. We have chives in the garden, so I pass on getting scallions.

We use a thermometer this time. Keep the oil at 350. First course is just some diced water chestnuts and chives mixed with the cream cheese. Little deep-fried triangles of joy.

We were planning on pot stickers with the pork mix, steaming or pan frying them. Oil is still at temp, I say screw it and start dropping them down. Mmmmmmm.

We have some lo mein and veggies to round out the meal, but the allure of deep frying has a hold of me now. How can anything so good be so bad? It's fast and makes everything taste better.

Special bonus food tips:
When making Phily cheese steak sandwiches at home, don't just cook the onions, peppers and meat together. I tried doing the veggies then adding the meat. It did not get the nice sear it needed, just steamed with all the juices. I fixed this the next day with leftovers for lunch by heating up the mix in a hot pan. Got the nice brown crust on the shaved steak I needed. In the future I'll cook everything separate and just mix in the roll.

- Matt

What Greg Won't Eat

2009-10-26T01:09:00Z

First of all, I don't hate many foods, and most of the foods I won't eat I have cultural opposition to eating.

I recently started thinking about all of this because a coworker linked me a great blog, Steve, Don't Eat It! I read through the entries, had some great laughs, cringed a few times then started to think about the foods I won't eat.

Top of my list for now and all time...Sauerkraut.

There are few things more evil than sauerkraut and I think all of them are mentioned somewhere in the Old Testament. Now, that having been said, the truth is, I've never had sauerkraut. So why the hate?

The biggest part of it comes simply, I was raised to hate sauerkraut. My dad was born in 1928 in a small farm town in west Texas. He was born the son of a share cropper at a time when the great depression had already taken hold. My dad would be the oldest of 11 brothers and sisters.

During the lean months, when things were slim and it was hardest to keep food on the table, my grandfather would do sanitation work to make ends meet. Restaurants would throw out old cabbage. If you collected it, took it home, peeled off the outer leaves and boiled the hell out of the rest with some salt, you'd wind up with a sour, bitter cauldron of barely edible, only slightly palatable cabbage soup.

Because of the years he spent eating that just in order to survive, my dad grew up to hate cooked cabbage that had soured even slightly. He passed that right along to me, so I grew up hating sauerkraut. But wait...it gets worse.

When I was 19 years old I joined the Navy. During my 8 weeks in bootcamp, I had to spend about 6-7 days working in the galley, we all did in those days. One day I'm changing out milk boxes (yes, it was a box of milk...a 5 gallon box of milk with a tube coming out of the bottom), when this short mess specialist comes up to me and says, "You there! You're tall, come help me with this."

I followed her into the kitchen area, thinking I'm going to be called upon to employ my 6' 2" by fetching items off of high shelves. No...no, it was nothing quite so nice.

She leads me back to a giant, 40+ gallon vat of cold, congealed sauerkraut. It had been sitting for hours and the stench was awful. Apparently, some moron had neglected to replace the screen over the drain pipe when he made the sauerkraut. So when they went to drain the liquid from this god awful crap, it just clogged the pipe, leaving behind this lump of grey, stringy, slimy junk.

I had to crawl into this vat, submerging myself head first up to my shoulders in cold sauerkraut, so I could dig out this pipe with my fingers, removing excess sauerkraut and holding back the flood long enough to replace the drain screen.

When I had to inevitably come up for air, the sauerkraut would rush back into the pipe, robbing me of most of my progress. Finally, I was able to clear it out, replace the drain screen and they were able to remove the rest of the moisture before scooping out the congealed mass that remained.

Now, I'm not a big fan of any bean larger than a kidney bean. I don't care much for boiled spinach by itself. There's numerous cultural dishes I avoid (gaegogi, balut, cuitlacoche, and more). However, for the most part, if it's considered food, I'll try it.

Sauerkraut though...I hate it with a fire that burns with the fury of a thousand suns.

The Best of Bowling Alley Eats

2009-10-18T21:18:00Z

I had a great lunch in a bowling alley this last week.

There, I said it. Furthermore, I'm going to stand behind it. On Friday we had a team lunch at Mel's Lonestar Lanes in Georgetown, TX. After a fun, active morning of conducting a scavenger hunt throughout downtown Georgetown we were pretty hungry.

I admit, when I heard that the bowling alley was providing the food, I was skeptical. I imagined greasy burgers, limp fries, maybe a wilted salad. My imagination wasn't very complimentary.

So, this is my official apology for doubting them. The meal started with a very well put together salad of fresh greens, shredded cheese, crisp croutons and two dressings; either ranch or vinaigrette. Just like the salad, everything was served up buffet style.

Options included:

Seasoned meatballs, cooked with mushrooms and red wine over egg noodles. The meatballs were perfectly seasoned and cooked.
Grilled chicken breasts served in a white wine butter sauce.
Scalloped potatoes with cheese and onions. This dish could have stood a little bit more cooking time, could have set a bit longer and/or had a slightly thicker cheese sauce. But the taste was great, and it was still very good.
Corn casserole cooked into fresh cornbread, very moist and tasty.
Cornbread, fresh and hot with pats of butter on the side.
Grilled vegetables, a medley of seasoned, grilled squash. Squash having so much moisture, you typically have to over-season it. In this case, it was seasoned, but not quite as much as it should have been. Still enjoyed eating it though.

Dessert was served after. Fresh peach cobbler with crunchy, cinnamon dough. Sweet without being too sweet and served hot with vanilla ice cream.

All in all, it was a very fun, tasty meal and Mel's did a great job with it. I'm looking forward to going back sometime to enjoy one of the great looking items off of their regular menu.

Garlic Knots?

2009-10-11T20:12:00Z

So, I'm sitting there watching Supernatural (Season 3, episode 3) and one of the side characters is trying to convince another to go to a particular restaurant. He remarks, "They have garlic knots!"

Woah..wait, what? What's a Garlic Knot? At first I'm like ...knot? naught? not? I figured knot, and I was right. I did a google search, came up with some recipes and some commentary on them. It seems that those people who have had a garlic knot just flat love them.

From what I gather, they are dense slightly leavened bread (think soft pretzel maybe?) brushed with a garlic glaze. Another food blog, Smells Like Home, has a great writeup on them.

So now I'm keen to try a garlic knot.

This also gets me thinking, maybe I need to brush up on my knowledge of semi-obscure regional foods. Speaking of which, now I have a craving for a doughboy.

Legendary BBQ - Texas Style

2009-09-27T03:12:00Z

salt lick

–noun

1. a place to which animals go to lick naturally occurring salt deposits.

2. a block of salt or salt preparation provided, as in a pasture, for cattle, horses, etc.

3. a veritable, meat-lovers Mecca of heavenly BBQ goodness.

Today, we’ll be focusing on item number three, Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood, TX. Since 1967 this genuine pit BBQ hotspot outside of Austin has been serving up great meat to hill country locals and far ranging visitors alike.

When it comes ordering time, there are a few ways to go. You can peruse the menu for the right Plate for you. Plates offer sausage, ribs, brisket, chicken, turkey, vegetables or combinations all served up with potato salad, cole slaw, beans, bread and pickles & onions (on request). Also available are sandwiches served with pickles & onions on request.

However, for those who really brought their appetites …you can go Family Style. That’s Salt Lick-speak for All-You-Can-Eat. Heaping platters of beef, sausage, pork ribs are served up and refreshed as many times as necessary. Accompanying these platters of moist, tasty bbq are their traditional sides, potato salad, cole slaw, beans, bread and pickles & onions.

The sausage is plump and juicy with a firm, slightly crisp skin and just the right amount of spice and a great smoky flavor brought on by the well-seasoned pit just inside the door (the sausage is great with the spicy bbq sauce). The pork ribs stopped just short of being great, but succeeded in being really good. They were moist, basted with the great sauce and fall off the bone tender. The brisket was prepared with a dry rub, cooked up on the pit and slow cooked until a nice, tasty crust developed on the outside. Meanwhile the slow cooking at the perfect temperature had turned the brisket into fork tender morsels perfect for pressing between a few slices of bread with pickles, onions and some of their regular or spicy bbq sauce.

A busy Friday night saw my wife Julia and I making the trek down to Driftwood with a co-worker, Jay, and his girlfriend, Brandi. Parking was an event in and of itself. The police were on-hand (typical for a Salt Lick weekend night) to direct everyone out back to a dirt lot cordoned off into hundreds of spaces.

There was a short wait for our table, and we were seated just as the sun was setting across the Central Texas hill country. Jay and I were prepared to do serious BBQ battle and went with the Family Style platters. Maybe it’s just a bit carnivorous of me, but I have a soft spot in my heart and a hard spot in my arteries for a big, heaping plate of perfectly cooked meat in three styles. Oh, the sides were good too.

All in all, this trip to one of the handful of legendary Central Texas BBQ joints did not disappoint. I put away more BBQ than any person has a right to reasonably eat. Julia’s plate was loaded down with ribs, sausage and brisket and she muscled her way through, finishing off the whole thing. We even saved a bit of room (or really, groaned and pretended we had the extra room) to squeeze in some blackberry cobbler, topped with Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream (we split an order, of course). The cobbler, like everything else that night, was outstanding.

Now, I can understand how those of you reading this from hundreds or thousands of miles away might not be willing to visit Texas just to have some BBQ (though, really you should). However, those few of you living in the Central Texas area who are a short drive away from Driftwood and the Salt Lick, but have never made the trip down there…shame on you. Fix that.